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T O P I C R E V I E W

Robert Pearlman

Roger Launius, the associate director for collections and curatorial affairs at the National Air and Space Museum, has provided through his blog a chronology of anniversaries in 2014 that relate to space exploration. For example, marking 50 years in 2014:

8 April — The first American Gemini flight took place, an unpi­loted test that made four orbits.

28 May — The United States placed the first Apollo command module (CM) in orbit in a test flight atop a Saturn I.

Greggy_D

August 30th -- 30 years ago Discovery launched on her first mission (STS-41D).

Tykeanaut

40 years since the return to Earth of the final Skylab crew on February 8th 1974.

mach3valkyrie

Some 50th anniversaries coming up that I can recall:

January 29, 1964: First live Saturn second stage launches on SA-5.

July 28, 1964: Ranger 7 launch.

October 31, 1964: Astronaut Ted Freeman killed in a T-38 crash.

November 28, 1964: Mariner 4 launch to Mars.

December 9, 1964: Gemini 2 unmanned flight has a shutdown on Pad 19.

Shuttle Endeavour

August 21, 1965 - Gemini 5 Launch

August 29, 1965 - Gemini 5 Splashdown

May 16, 2011 - STS-134 Launch

June 1, 2011 - STS-134 Landing at KSC

July 8, 2011 - STS-135 Launch

July 21, 2011 - STS-135 Landing at KSC

Robert Pearlman

Generally, anniversaries of note are in intervals of five (i.e. 10th, 15th, 25th, 50th), otherwise you can end up listing every date from history.

While the Gemini 5, STS-134 and STS-135 missions are certainly historic, 2014 marks their 49th and third anniversaries...

Cozmosis22

quote:Originally posted by Greggy_D:August 30th -- 30 years ago Discovery launched on her first mission (STS-41D).

About two months prior to that, June 26th, shuttle Discovery experienced what I believe was the first main engine shutdown launch abort on the pad. Due to an anomaly in one of the orbiter's three main engines, the countdown was halted a mere four seconds before SRB ignition.

From the Press Site we heard a short roar then sort of a fading screech followed by... silence. There were a few rather scary moments as controllers scrambled to explain what just happened and what would come next.

It was determined that the crew would not take the emergency slide-wire egress route. They all departed normally, as they had done the previous day when the countdown was scrubbed at the T-9 minute mark due to a computer glitch.

Ah DISCOVERY, you were a difficult bird to get off the ground; but once you got going you became the workhorse of the fleet!

Hart Sastrowardoyo

quote:Originally posted by Cozmosis22:Ah DISCOVERY, you were a difficult bird to get off the ground; but once you got going you became the workhorse of the fleet!

Which I like to point out is ironic considering Discovery was slated to fly just four missions a year as the Vandenberg-dedicated shuttle.